The present invention relates to the field of microbial starter cultures and in particular there are provided liquid starter cultures that retain their initial metabolic activity during storage for extended periods of time. Such liquid starter cultures are useful in the manufacturing of food and feed products.
Microorganisms are involved in the manufacture of food and feed products including most dairy products. Thus, bacterial cultures, in particular cultures of bacteria that are generally classified as lactic acid bacteria are essential in the making of all fermented milk products, cheese and butter. Cultures of such bacteria are referred to as starter cultures and they impart specific features to various dairy products by performing a number of functions.
Commercial dairy starter cultures are generally composed of lactic acid and citric acid-fermenting lactic acid bacteria. In the present context, the expression xe2x80x9clactic acid bacteriaxe2x80x9d designates a group of Gram positive, catalase negative, non-motile, microaerophilic or anaerobic bacteria which ferment sugar with the production of acids including lactic acid as the predominantly produced acid, acetic acid, formic acid and propionic acid. The industrially most useful lactic acid bacteria are found among Lactococcus species, Streptococcus species, Enterococcus species, Lactobacillus species, Leuconostoc species and Pediococcus species.
Commonly used dairy starter culture strains of lactic acid bacteria are generally divided into mesophilic organisms having optimum growth temperatures at about 30xc2x0 C. and thermophilic organisms having optimum growth temperatures in the range of about 40 to about 45xc2x0 C. Typical organisms belonging to the mesophilic group include Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis and Lactobacillus casei subsp. casei. Thermophilic lactic acid bacterial species include as examples Streptococcus thermophilus, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus lactis, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Lactobacillus acidophilus. 
Also the strict anaerobic bacteria belonging to the genus Bifidobacterium including Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium longum are commonly used as dairy starter cultures and are generally included in the group of lactic acid bacteria. Additionally, species of Propionibacterium are used as dairy starter cultures, in particular in the manufacture of cheese.
Additionally, organisms belonging to the Brevibacterium genus are commonly used as food starter cultures.
Another group of microbial starter cultures is fungal cultures, including yeast cultures and cultures of filamentous fungi, which are particularly used in the manufacture of certain types of cheese and beverage. Examples of currently used cultures of fungi include Penicillium roqueforti, Penicillium candidum, Geotrichum candidum, Torula kefir, Saccharomyces kefir and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. 
Presently, commercial starter cultures are commonly distributed as frozen concentrates. Under these conditions, the viability of the cultures is preserved for extended periods of time and the cultures can be inoculated directly into milk without intermediate transfer. Such cultures are generally referred to as direct vat set (DVS)-cultures. Another presentation of commercial DVS-starter cultures is as freeze-dried or lyophilised cultures in the form of a powder. In this form, the starter can be shipped without refrigeration, but storage below freezing temperature is recommended.
Although commercial starters thus are available as cultures, which can be added directly to milk without any intermediate transfer or propagation, it is not uncommon that dairies produce in-house bulk starters at regular intervals depending on the requirement. A xe2x80x9cbulk starterxe2x80x9d is defined herein as a starter culture propagated at the dairy plant for inoculation into milk. Such bulk starters are generally made by inoculating heat treated milk with a volume of a previous bulk starter or with a freeze-dried or frozen starter culture preparation, followed by incubating the thus inoculated milk under conditions permitting the starter culture strain(s) to propagate for a sufficient period of time to provide a desired cell number. The incubation period is typically in the range of 4 to 24 hours.
However, the preparation of such bulk starter cultures is labour intensive and it occupies much space and equipment, and there is a considerable risk of contamination with spoilage bacteria and/or phages during the step of propagation.
The use of commercial liquid starter cultures in the food and feed manufacturing industry including the dairy industry has been suggested as a useful alternative to the use of commercial frozen and freeze-dried starter cultures. The advantages for the industry by having such liquid starter cultures at its disposal would be several. Thus, it would be highly convenient and much less labour consuming to handle such starter cultures at food and feed manufacturing plants as compared to the use of the conventional frozen or freeze-dried cultures. Thus, when using liquid starter cultures, the inoculation of the material to be inoculated can be made directly e.g. by connecting the container with the liquid culture directly to the process line, thus avoiding the tedious work connected with opening several packagings of culture prior to inoculation. Additionally, it can be avoided to open the process line, as it is required when using frozen or freeze-dried cultures, which reduces the risk of contamination.
However, the use of commercial liquid starter cultures has so far not been feasible or possible, as such cultures, even if the cells of the cultures keep their viability, rapidly loose their metabolic activity such as e.g. their acid-producing (acidification) activity when kept stored even for shorter periods of time. To be commercially useful, liquid starter cultures should preferably retain their metabolic activity for at least 1 week and more, preferably for at least 2-3 weeks. Up till now it has not been possible to provide commercial liquid starter cultures having such a high stability.
It is therefore an important objective of the present invention to provide liquid starter cultures which show a high degree of storage stability in respect of retaining the metabolic activity when kept under cool storage conditions for extended periods of time.
Accordingly, it is the primary objective of the invention to provide commercial liquid microbial starter cultures for the manufacturing of food and feed products, which cultures can be stored at the site of food or feed manufacturing such as a dairy plant for extended periods of time without significant loss of their initial metabolic activity.
Thus, in a first aspect, the invention pertains to a liquid starter culture comprising an effective amount of a compound that has a metabolic activity stabilising effect, said starter culture retains at least 50% of its initial metabolic activity at a temperature of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. or higher for 1 week or more.
In another aspect, the invention provides a liquid starter culture capable of retaining at least 50% of its initial metabolic activity at a temperature of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. or higher for 1 week or more, said culture comprising at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a sugar alcohol including glycerol; carbohydrates including ascorbic acid; disaccharides including sucrose and trehalose; vitamins; antioxidants; inert gases and surfactants including Tween(copyright) compounds.
In a further aspect, there is provided a method of stabilising a liquid starter culture, the method comprising adding to the culture concentrate an effective amount of a metabolic activity stabilising compound whereby at least 50% of the initial metabolic activity of the culture concentrate is retained at a temperature of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. or higher for 1 week or longer.
In a still further aspect, there is provided a method of providing a liquid starter culture as defined above, said method comprising adding to the culture an amount of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a sugar alcohol including glycerol, carbohydrates including ascorbic acid, disaccharides including sucrose and trehalose, vitamins, antioxidants, inert gases and surfactants including Tween(copyright) compounds, said amount being sufficient to maintain the starter culture in a liquid state at a temperature in the range of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. to 0xc2x0 C.
In yet another aspect, the invention pertains to a method of preparing a food or a feed product said method comprising using a stabilised liquid starter culture according to the invention.
It is an essential feature of the liquid starter culture which is provided herein that the starter culture can be supplied to the site of food or feed manufacturing such as a dairy plant and be stored for extended periods of time prior to use. As used herein, the expression xe2x80x9cliquid starter culturexe2x80x9d relates to non-frozen liquid starter cultures having a liquid phase, e.g. an aqueous phase, content that is typically in the range of 50-90% by weight.
Thus, the liquid starter culture according to the invention comprising an effective amount of at least one compound that has a metabolic activity stabilising effect, said starter culture preferably retains at least 50% of its initial metabolic activity during storage at a temperature of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. or higher for 1 week or more. It is, however, preferred that the liquid starter culture retains at least 60% of its initial metabolic activity, e.g. at least 70% including at least 80% such as at least 90% of its initial metabolic activity.
As used herein the term xe2x80x9can effective amountxe2x80x9d relates to an amount of a metabolic activity stabilising compound, which is added to the liquid starter culture at the starter culture production site or at the dairy plant and which is sufficient to obtain the desired stability of the culture when kept under the above conditions. The stabilising compound which is useful in the liquid starter culture according to the invention may be any compound which permits the liquid starter culture to retain its initial metabolic activity when kept for extended periods of time at a temperature above or below 0xc2x0 C.
Although the acid-producing activity is exemplified herein, this invention is intended to encompass the stabilisation of any types of metabolic activities of a starter culture. Thus, the term xe2x80x9cmetabolic activityxe2x80x9d refers to the oxygen removal activity of the starter cultures, its acid-producing activity, i.e. the production of e.g. lactic acid, acetic acid, formic acid and/or propionic acid, or its metabolite producing activity such as the production of aroma compounds such as acetaldehyde, xcex1-acetolactate, acetoin, diacetyl and 2,3-butylene glycol (butanediol). It will be understood that the expression xe2x80x9cinitial metabolic activityxe2x80x9d refers to the metabolic activity of the starter organism prior to storage. In addition, it will be appreciated that the xe2x80x9cinitial metabolic activityxe2x80x9d of the liquid starter culture is determined as described in the below Examples or any other known method of determining the production of metabolites of microbial cultures. Furthermore, the expression xe2x80x9cretaining its initial metabolic activityxe2x80x9d is used interchangeably with the expression xe2x80x9cstorage stabilityxe2x80x9d and refers to the capability of the liquid starter culture to substantially retain its initial metabolic activity during storage or extended periods of time under appropriate conditions.
As mentioned above, one characteristic of the liquid starter culture of the invention is its capability to retain its initial metabolic activity during storage under appropriate conditions. In preferred embodiments the liquid starter culture is stored at a temperature of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. or higher, such as xe2x88x9210xc2x0 C. or higher, e.g. xe2x88x925xc2x0 C. or higher, such as 0xc2x0 C. or higher including 5xc2x0 C. or higher, such as 10xc2x0 C. or higher.
As it is shown in the below Examples, the liquid starter culture can be stored for a considerable period of time. Thus, the liquid starter culture according to the invention may be stored under the above conditions for at least 1 week or longer, such as at least 3 weeks or longer such as at least for 4 weeks or longer, e.g. 5 weeks or longer including 6 weeks or longer such as 7 weeks or longer. In a highly convenient embodiment, the starter culture according to the invention may be stored under the above conditions for at least 8 weeks or longer, such as at least 12 weeks or longer including at least 16 weeks or longer.
The liquid starter culture according to the invention is based on the surprising finding that a liquid starter culture can retain its initial metabolic activity during storage for a considerable period of time when a compound having a stabilising effect is added to the liquid starter culture at the starter culture production site. In presently preferred embodiments, a stabilising compound which is useful in the liquid starter culture according to the invention is a compound selected from the group consisting of formic acid, a formate, inosinate (IMP), serine and a compound involved in the biosynthesis of nucleic acids, including adenosine-5xe2x80x2-monophosphate (AMP), guanosine-5xe2x80x2-monophosphate (GMP), uranosine-5xe2x80x2-monophosphate (UMP), cytidine-5xe2x80x2-monophosphate (CMP), adenine, guanine, uracil, cytosine, adenosine, guanosine, uridine, cytidine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, hypoxanthine, orotidine, thymidine, inosine and a derivative of any of such compounds.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention the liquid starter culture contains formate at an amount which is less than 10% by weight. It is, however, preferred to add the stabilising compound at an amount which is in the range of 0.015% to 9% by weight, e.g. within the range of 0.1% to 8% by weight, such as within the range of 0.2% to 7% by weight, e.g. within the range of 0.3% to 5% by weight, such as within the range of 0.5% to 2% by weight, including within the range of 1% to 1.5% by weight.
Additionally, the liquid starter culture may contain further conventional additives including nutrients such as yeast extract, sugars and vitamins or other substances enhancing and/or stabilising the metabolic activity and/or viability of the starter culture organisms and/or one or more compounds for lowering the freezing point of the starter culture. Thus, in useful embodiments of the invention, the liquid starter culture further comprises at least one compound that has a metabolic activity stabilising effect selected from the group consisting of a sugar alcohol including glycerol, carbohydrates including ascorbic acid, disaccharides including sucrose and trehalose, vitamins, antioxidants, inert gases and surfactants including Tween(copyright) compounds.
In certain preferred embodiments, the liquid starter culture according to the invention contains sugar alcohols such as glycerol at an amount which is within the range of 5% to 40% by weight, e.g. as within the range of 10% to 35% by weight, including the range of 15% to 20% by weight. In a further embodiment the liquid starter culture contains disaccharides including sucrose at an amount which is within the range of 1% to 20% by weight, e.g. within the range of 5% to 15% by weight, including the range of 10% to 12% by weight. The liquid starter culture may also contain trehalose at an amount which is within the range of 0.5 M to 1.5 M, e.g. within the range of 0.7 M to 1.2 M, including the range of 0.8 M to 1 M. In useful embodiments, the liquid starter culture contains carbohydrates, vitamins and/or antioxidants, including natural antioxidants such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid) vitamin E and lecithins and chemical antioxidants such as ascorbyl palmitate, propyl-, octyl- or dodecyl-gallat, BHA (butylhydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylhydroxytoluene). Such compounds are useful in an amount within the range of 0.01% to 1% by weight, e.g. within the range of 0.05% to 0.8% by weight, including the range of 0.1% to 0.5% by weight. Surfactants including Tween(copyright) compounds, such as Tween(copyright)20, Tween(copyright)60 and Tween(copyright)80 may be added at an amount which is within the range of 0.1% to 2% by weight, e.g. within the range of 0.5% to 1.5% by weight, including the range of 0.8% to 1% by weight.
It is convenient to provide the liquid starter culture according to the invention as a starter culture concentrate both when used in food and feed production or for the production of metabolites that are generated by the starter culture strains. Typically, such a concentrate contains the starter culture organisms as a non-concentrated fermentate of the respective starter culture strain(s) or in a concentrated form. Accordingly, the starter culture of the invention may have a content of viable cells (colony forming units, CFUs) which is at least 108 CFU per ml, e.g. at least 109 CFU per ml, such as at least 1010 CFU per ml including at least 1011 CFU per ml, e.g. at least 1012 CFU per ml.
It will be understood that the liquid starter culture according to the invention can be provided as a frozen or dried, such as e.g. freeze-dried or spray-dried, starter culture as the starting material for the preparation of the liquid starter culture of the invention. Thus, it may be convenient to provide the starter culture as a frozen or dried culture and to thaw and, if required, to rehydrate the starter culture.
In accordance with the invention, any starter culture organism which is of use in the food or feed industry including the dairy industry can be used. Thus, the starter culture can be selected from a lactic acid bacterial species, a Bifidobacterium species, a Brevibacterium species, a Propionibacterium species or a fungal species such as a Torula species a Penicillium species, a Cryptococcus species and a Saccharomyces species. Suitable cultures of the lactic acid bacterial group include commonly used strains of a Lactococcus species, a Streptococcus species, a Lactobacillus species include the Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus species, Pediococcus species, a Leuconostoc species and Onescoccus species. Lactococcus species include the widely used Lactococcus lactis, including Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris which are commonly used in the manufacture of cheeses with a closed texture, e.g. Cheddar, Feta and cottage cheese.
It will be appreciated, that the starter culture organism can be selected from a genetically modified strain of one of the above lactic acid bacterial strains or any other starter culture strain. As used herein the expression xe2x80x9cgenetically modified bacteriumxe2x80x9d is used in the conventional meaning of that term i.e. it refers to strains obtained by subjecting a lactic acid bacterial strain to any conventionally used mutagenization treatment including treatment with a chemical mutagen such as ethanemethane sulphonate (EMS) or N-methyl-Nxe2x80x2-nitro-N-nitroguanidine (NTG), UV light or to spontaneously occurring mutants, including classical mutagenesis. Futhermore it is possible to provide the genetically modified bacterium by random mutagenesis or by selection of spontaneously occurring mutants, i.e. without the use of recombinant DNA-technology, it is envisaged that mutants of lactic acid bacteria can be provided by such technology including site-directed mutagenesis and PCR techniques and other in vitro or in vivo modifications of specific DNA sequences once such sequences have been identified and isolated.
As it is usual in the dairy industry, the starter culture may comprise a mixture of strains including a mixture of strains of different lactic acid bacterial species, such as e.g. a mixture of Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. 
The selection of strains for the starter culture of the invention will depend on the particular type of fermented food or feed product to be manufactured. Thus, e.g. for cheese and butter manufacturing, mesophilic cultures of Lactococcus species, Leuconostoc species and Lactobacillus species are widely used, whereas for yoghurt and other fermented milk products, thermophilic strains of Streptococcus species and of Lactobacillus species are typically used.
Fungal cultures are another group of microbial starter cultures, which may be used in accordance with the invention. Fungal cultures, such as yeast cultures and cultures of filamentous fungi, are commonly used in the manufacture of certain types of cheese and beverage. Examples of currently used cultures of fungi include Penicillium roqueforti, Penicillium candidum, Geotrichum candidum, Torula kefir, Saccharomyces kefir and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. 
In a further aspect, the invention provides a liquid starter culture capable of retaining at least 50% of its initial metabolic activity at a temperature of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. or higher for 1 week or more, said culture comprising at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a sugar alcohol including glycerol, carbohydrates including ascorbic acid, disaccharides including sucrose and trehalose, vitamins, antioxidants, inert gases and surfactants including Tween(copyright) compounds. It is, however, preferred that the liquid starter culture retains at least 60% of its initial metabolic activity, e.g. at least 70% including at least 80% such as at least 90% of its initial metabolic activity. In preferred embodiments the liquid starter culture is capable of retaining its initial metabolic activity when stored at a temperature of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. or higher, such as xe2x88x9210xc2x0 C. or higher, e.g. xe2x88x925xc2x0 C. or higher, such as 0xc2x0 C. or higher including 5xc2x0 C. or higher, such as 10xc2x0 C. or higher.
As mentioned above and as it is shown in the below Examples, the liquid starter culture can be stored for a considerable period of time. Thus, the liquid starter culture according to the invention may be stored under the above conditions for at least 1 week or longer such as at least 3 weeks or longer such as at least for 4 weeks or longer, e.g. 5 weeks or longer including 6 weeks or longer such as 7 weeks or longer. In a highly convenient embodiment, the starter culture according to the invention may be stored under the above conditions for at least 8 weeks or longer, such as at least 12 weeks or longer including at least 16 weeks or longer.
It will be understood that the metabolic activity stabilising compounds are added to the liquid starter culture at the starter culture production site or at the dairy plant, in an amount which is sufficient to obtain the desired stability of the culture and which is sufficient to maintain the starter culture in a liquid state at a temperature in the range of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. to 0xc2x0 C. However, in certain preferred embodiments, the liquid starter culture according to the invention contains sugar alcohols such as glycerol, disaccharides including sucrose or trehalose in the amounts specified above. In useful embodiments, the liquid starter culture contains carbohydrates, vitamins and/or antioxidants as specified above or surfactants including Tween(copyright) compounds in the amounts as specified above.
As mentioned above, it is convenient to provide the liquid starter culture according to the invention as a starter culture concentrate both when used in food and feed production or for the production of metabolites that are generated by the starter culture strains. The starter culture concentrate typically has a content of viable cells (colony forming units, CFUs) which is at least 108 CFU per ml, e.g. at least 109 CFU per ml, such as at least 1010 CFU per ml including at least 1011 CFU per ml, e.g. at least 1012 CFU per ml.
In accordance with the invention, any of the above-mentioned starter culture organisms which is of use in the food or feed industry including the dairy industry can be used in the liquid starter culture. Furthermore, any of the above-mentioned mixed cultures may be useful in the liquid starter culture.
It is also within the scope of the invention to provide a method of stabilising a liquid starter culture, the method comprising adding to the culture concentrate an effective amount of a metabolic activity stabilising compound whereby at least 50% of the initial metabolic activity of the culture concentrate is retained at a temperature of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. or higher for 1 week or longer.
It is an advantageous feature of the method according to the invention that the above liquid starter culture is stable with respect to viability and metabolic activity including acid-producing activity for an extended period of time. Evidently, this feature implies that the method is very flexible in that the liquid starter culture can be supplied to the food or feed production plant, e.g. a dairy plant, and stored until the culture is needed. Conveniently, the liquid starter culture can be added directly to the substrate material, such as milk, meat, flour dough, wine and plant materials, such as vegetables, fruits or fodder crops. Accordingly, the use of liquid starter cultures has the advantage that no propagation, i.e. no preparation of a bulk starter at the dairy plant, of the starter organisms at the food or feed production site is necessary.
When used in accordance with the above method the stabilising compound, which is e.g. selected from the group consisting of formic acid, a formate, inosinate (IMP), serine and a compound involved in the biosynthesis of nucleic acids, including adenosine-5xe2x80x2-monophosphate (AMP), guanosine-5xe2x80x2-monophosphate (GMP), uranosine-5xe2x80x2-monophosphate (UMP), cytidine-5xe2x80x2-monophosphate (CMP), adenine, guanine, uracil, cytosine, adenosine, guanosine, uridine, cytidine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, hypoxanthine, orotidine, thymidine, inosine and a derivative of any of such compounds is conveniently added to the liquid starter culture at the production site of the starter culture. In one useful embodiment of the method according to the invention, the liquid starter culture contains formate at an amount that is less than 10% by weight including the above amounts of the stabilising compound. It is, however, preferred to add the stabilising compound at an amount which is within the range of 0.015% to 9% by weight, e.g. within the range of 0.1% to 8% by weight, such as the range of 0.2% to 7% by weight, e.g. the range of 0.3% to 5% by weight, such as the range of 0.5% to 2% by weight, including the range of 1% to 1.5% by weight.
In useful embodiments, the starter culture used in the method of the invention comprises at least one further compound having a metabolic activity stabilising effect selected from the group consisting of a sugar alcohol including glycerol, carbohydrates including ascorbic acid, disaccharides including sucrose and trehalose, vitamins, antioxidants, inert gases and surfactants including Tween(copyright) compounds. However, it will be appreciated that the above compounds are useful when used in the above-mentioned concentrations e.g. when the liquid starter culture in the method according to the invention is kept at temperatures below 0xc2x0 C.
In an advantageous and highly convenient embodiment, the starter culture used in the method according to the invention is provided as a liquid starter culture concentrate. The use of a concentrate of the starter culture organisms involves the significant advantage over a non-concentrated liquid culture that it reduces the requirement for storage facilities significantly at the food or feed production site. Such a concentrate contains the starter culture organisms in a concentrated form, typically at a content of viable organisms of 1010 CFU per ml or higher including at least 1011 CFU per ml or higher, e.g. 1012 CFU per ml or higher.
In further aspects, the invention relates to a method of providing a liquid starter culture which is capable of retaining at least 50% of its initial metabolic activity at a temperature of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. or higher for 1 week or more, said method comprising adding to the culture an amount of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a sugar alcohol including glycerol, carbohydrates including ascorbic acid, disaccharides including sucrose and trehalose, vitamins, antioxidants, inert gases and surfactants including Tween(copyright) compounds, said amount being sufficient to maintain the starter culture in a liquid state at a temperature in the range of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. to 0xc2x0 C. It is, however, preferred that the liquid starter culture retains at least 60% of its initial metabolic activity, e.g. at least 70% including at least 80% such as at least 90% of its initial metabolic activity. In preferred embodiments the liquid starter culture is capable of retaining its initial metabolic activity when stored at a temperature of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. or higher, such as xe2x88x9210xc2x0 C. or higher, e.g. xe2x88x925xc2x0 C. or higher, such as 0xc2x0 C. or higher including 5xc2x0 C. or higher, such as 10xc2x0 C. or higher.
It will be understood that the metabolic activity stabilising compounds are added to the liquid starter culture at the starter culture production site or at the dairy plant, in an amount which is sufficient to obtain the desired stability of the culture and which is sufficient to maintain the starter culture in a liquid state at a temperature in the range of xe2x88x9220xc2x0 C. to 0xc2x0 C. However, in useful embodiments, the liquid starter culture of the method according to the invention contains the metabolic activity stabilising compounds in the above-mentioned concentrations.
It is, however, convenient to provide the liquid starter culture of the method according to the invention as a starter culture concentrate both where used in food and feed production or for the production of metabolites that are generated by the starter culture strains. The starter culture concentrate typically has a content of viable cells (colony forming units, CFUs) which is at least 108 CFU per ml, e.g. at least 109 CFU per ml, such as at least 1010 CFU per ml including at least 1011 CFU per ml, e.g. at least 1012 CFU per ml.
In accordance with the invention, any of the above mentioned starter culture organisms which is of use in the food or feed industry including the dairy industry can be used in the liquid starter culture. Furthermore, any of the above-mentioned mixed culture may be useful in the liquid starter culture.
In a further aspect, the invention pertains to a method of preparing a food or a feed product said method comprising using the stabilised liquid starter culture according to the invention.
In a specific embodiment the food product is a milk-based product such as cheese, yoghurt, butter or a liquid fermented milk product, such as e.g. buttermilk or drinking yoghurt. Furthermore, the food product may be selected from a meat product, a vegetable product and a beverage such as wine and beer.
Another significant application of the method according to the present invention is the use of the liquid starter cultures as so-called probiotics. By the term xe2x80x9cprobioticxe2x80x9d is in the present context understood a microbial culture which, when ingested in the form of viable cells by humans or animals, confers an improved health condition, e.g. by suppressing harmful micro-organisms in the gastrointestinal tract, by enhancing the immune system or by contributing to the digestion of nutrients. A typical example of such a probiotically active product is xe2x80x9csweet acidophilus milkxe2x80x9d.
In further embodiments, the method according to the invention is used in the production of an animal feed such as silage e.g. grass, cereal material, peas, alfalfa or sugar-beet leaf, where bacterial cultures are inoculated in the feed crop to be ensiled in order to obtain a preservation hereof, or in protein rich animal waste products such as slaughtering offal and fish offal, also with the aims of preserving this offal for animal feeding purposes.
Typically, the starter organisms used in the method of preparing a food and feed product is added to the starting material at a concentration in the range of 105 to 109 CFU per ml or g of the material, such as at least 105 CFU per ml or g of the material, including at least 106 CFU per ml or g of the material, such as at least 107 CFU per ml or g of the material, e.g. at least 108 CFU per ml or g of the material, including at least 109 CFU per ml or g of the starting material.